Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information has said the country’s budget surplus stood lower at OR615.4m in the first quarter of this year, compared with OR931m for the same period last year, Times of Oman has reported. Despite a 1.1% increase in oil production to 113.09 million barrels in the quarter, average price of Oman crude fell by 2.2% to $105.73 per barrel from $108.07 per barrel, pushing the sultanate’s total revenue down by 7% to OR3.214bn from OR3.45bn. Oman, which based its 2014 budget on a projected oil price of $85 per barrel, expects expenditure of OR13.5bn and a deficit of OR1.8bn this year.